Best I Ever Had Video (Review)

Aubrey Graham, better known by his stage name Drake, had one of the biggest songs across the U.S. in the form of Best I Ever Had from his So Far Gone mixtape. It was unanimously crowned summer anthem of 2009; that's how much of an impact it had!

The hit single was literally everywhere, played in heavy rotation on most major radio stations around the country. It was only a matter of time before a music video was shot to compliment the song.

With Kanye West on board as director, the anticipation for the video was overflowing. Fans and critics alike were anxious to see what the by-product would be for such a massive single that catapulted newcomer Drake to superstardom. The end result was a lot different from what people were expecting.

Did it work out? Read on to find out...

Does the music video for "Best I Ever Had" by Drake live up to the song's hype?

Table of Contents

Drake - Best I Ever Had (Video)

Poll

What did you think of Drake's Best I Ever Had Video?

Model Shakur posing with Drake on the set of the "Best I Ever Had" video shoot.

Synopsis

In an interview, Drake expressed concerns in presenting a music video that would make each of his female fans feel that the video was dedicated specifically to them. After watching the video through several times, it's clear who he was really catering to, and it wasn't his female fans.

Basically the video boils down to a championship game between two teams: Team Drake and another unnamed team. It starts off in the locker room before the game, where the scantily clad members of Team Drake bang out some provocative stretches and warm-up exercises as Coach Drake reviews the game plan in his office. Eventually, the game starts, and because all Drake ever taught his players to do was stretch, they end up losing the game to the less attractive, but more skilled opposing team.

The first 30 seconds alone is evidence of who the intended audience is for the video. Each of the women on Team Drake bounces onto the court in slow motion in what looks like the opening to a softcore porno. I can only imagine how Drake's female fans must have reacted to seeing such a derogatory video for one of the biggest R&B singles of the year.

The concept of the Best I Ever Had music video, according to Drake, is to show that even if people fail at something, they can still be the best in someone's eyes. While some viewers might be able to take away that message from the video, it will be very hard with all the T&A floating around.

The music video for Best I Ever Had truly did not compliment the song.

Verdict

I personally don't think the video lived up to the hype created by the song. It seemed more like a calculated marketing move to make Drake appear more credible to male audiences and to not stereotype him as just another LL Cool J. While this might have worked, I think it's a shame that such a huge single got such a generic music video.

Drake, though highly talented, may have made a career mistake with his Best I Ever Had music video.

What's even more confusing is the fact that the music video for Best I Ever Had was directed by Kanye West! Mr. West, the man that proclaimed George Bush didn't care about black people on national television back in '05! You would think that someone who is known for taking risks would have been a little more creative sitting in the director's chair.

In the end, we can only sit and watch how this choice of "artistic interpretation" of Drake's Best I Ever Had will pan out among audiences.

It's evident that Drake anticipated a negative backlash for the music video, because he immediately issued a statement after it was released to reveal the deeper meaning of the video. Honestly though, unless you knew beforehand what the theme of the video was, you wouldn't get it just by watching it.

My Idea

The music video for "Best I Ever Had" should have definitely been geared more towards female audiences.

If I was chosen to direct the video for Best I Ever Had, it would have been a lot different. The story of the video would be about a career woman whom Drake is dating, that is having one of the worst days of her life. The type of day where everything goes wrong, and life just seems unbelievably harsh.

As the day progresses, Drake steps in to make the woman's day better. First by calling her and comforting her; making her laugh and whatnot. Just as things seem to be getting better, the woman's boss catches her on the phone and she gets in trouble. Drake hears this, and it segueways into the next verse.

For verse 2, Drake would be reciting his lyrics while writing a love letter to the woman. The shots would alternate between him in the studio, and her at work. Then, when the letter is done, he has it delivered to the woman, along with some flowers and gifts. She gets them right as she's about to leave from work, and it makes her smile.

Finally, for the final verse, Drake and the woman meet up at his house, and he pampers her for the entire night. He cooks her food, massages her feet while she takes a bubble bath, that sort of thing. Then as the song ends, the couple goes to the bedroom, it is implied that they make love. Then the next day, she wakes up early and goes back to work, but not before looking back at Drake affectionately.

Comments

No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.

sending

AUTHOR

MistHaven

9 years agofrom New Jersey

Yeah, I can't say I didn't see that one coming. Drake had such a crazy buzz, I knew somebody from his management would try and cash in before he drops the album. And the thing is, it's gonna sell, too. Even though he's only adding on one new song.

Yeah I was talking about Cannon Ball. That track was hot.

Drew Breezzy

9 years agofrom somewhere in my mind

Did you hear he is releasing So Far Gone commercially? Even though it has already been released as a free mixtape CRAZINESS! Only morons will buy it.

Are you referring to Cannon Ball? That's a nice song.

AUTHOR

MistHaven

9 years agofrom New Jersey

Oh, then yeah, it's definitely gonna be a chick disc, lol. The thing about Drake is, the dude's got the talent to make commercial hits for the radio, and critical album cuts. Just like to some of Drake's music like the collabo he did with Colin Munroe hints at something greater. I think he messed up too by not going independent to make more money off his debut album.

Drew Breezzy

9 years agofrom somewhere in my mind

It is coming out on Valentine's Day so it is probably geared to the females. I hope it sounds like Comeback Season or has more tracks like Successful and Say What's Real off So Far Gone.

AUTHOR

MistHaven

9 years agofrom New Jersey

Yeah, I agree. I like Drake, and I thought Best I Ever Had was a dope song, but he definitely screwed up with the music video. I heard Drake is thinking about shooting another video for Best I Ever Had, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Unfortunately I think Thank Me Later is going to be very commercial. Drake used to be a more conscious MC when he started out, but I guess he wasn't selling so he switched it up to push units.

Drew Breezzy

9 years agofrom somewhere in my mind

I thought the video did nothing for the song. It was a bit hypocritical of his message from the song video girls. I hope his new album is not full of pop tunes.

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)

Google AdSense Host API

This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Facebook Login

You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Maven

This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.

Conversion Tracking Pixels

We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics

Author Google Analytics

This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)

Comscore

ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)

Amazon Tracking Pixel

Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)